Kaplan said two officers fired back, wounding the man, who was listed in critical condition in Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick yesterday and upgraded to stable condition tonight.

Kaplan did not identify the man, but others have said he is Victor Rodriguez, 19.

At the time of Tuesday's incident, Sutton said, the officers were riding with a Middlesex County Sheriff’s officer. It was not explained why the three were riding together.

The shooting occurred two blocks from the site of the fatal police shooting of Barry Deloatch, 47. The prosecutor’s office is also investigating that shooting.

Sutton criticized "city activists" for suggesting police shootings occur in only one section of the city.

"Police officers don’t decide in what area of the city a crime takes place — criminals do," the union leader said. "Our job is to address crime when and where it happens in order to keep the law-abiding citizens of New Brunswick safe."